If You Wish to Practice This Art

"Yue Qianchou?" The master walking ahead asked in an indifferent tone. The disciple behind him hurriedly replied, "Yes, Master!" His voice was exceedingly respectful, even somewhat fawning.

"Your innate talent is a complete mess. At least your name has a bit of meaning to it." The master nodded, then asked, "Why do you want to cultivate immortality?" The disciple immediately answered, "To subdue demons and eliminate devils, to uphold justice..."

The master stopped, turned around, and cut him off. "Cut the useless crap. Answer honestly."

If I tell the truth, you won't throw me out, right? Then I'll tell you... it's to pick up girls. You understand? The disciple thought this inwardly, but wore an awkward smile as he said, "Master truly has eyes like torches. I can't hide such little thoughts from you, Elder. To pick up... to attain immortality!"

"Hmph!" The master turned around, and the disciple followed. One asked, one answered, and the two gradually disappeared into the distance.

From his master's words, Yue Qianchou gained some understanding of the Qingguang Sect. His master was named Hao Sansi, an eighth-generation disciple and of the same generation as Sect Master Liu Changqing. As for those of higher seniority, they had long stopped concerning themselves with worldly affairs and hidden away in the back mountain to cultivate single-mindedly. Speaking of which, Yue Qianchou's seniority was actually rather high. The lowest-ranking disciples of the Qingguang Sect were eleventh-generation disciples; when they met Yue Qianchou, a ninth-generation disciple, they still had to address him as Martial Ancestor Uncle. Hao Sansi had never accepted a disciple before. Yue Qianchou was his first.

The moment he crossed a courtyard wall, Yue Qianchou was startled. Looking out, he saw more than a thousand buildings, large and small, constructed along the mountain range of the back mountain. To build such a vast cluster of structures so high up a mountain—what kind of strength would that require? Yue Qianchou's current assessment of the Qingguang Sect could be summed up in two words: "Rich."

Following the pebble path with his eyes, he saw that the houses were not all cut from the same mold. Most came with their own courtyards, and both the houses and courtyards varied in size. Hao Sansi led Yue Qianchou to a fairly large house with a likewise spacious courtyard. After entering, Hao Sansi said, "I live here alone. There are plenty of rooms, so pick whichever one you like."

The moment Yue Qianchou entered, he was a little dumbfounded. From outside the courtyard, the house had looked quite presentable, but once he drew near, an indescribable smell hit him. In any case, it was utterly foul. At the time, he wondered whether this was the legendary scent of medicinal pills. But the scene before him made him doubt his eyes. Was this really where an immortal cultivator lived?

The smell of alcohol, sweat, stinking feet, and the rotten stench of piled-up garbage. Everywhere he looked... that... that... and that. Yue Qianchou could not tell what any of it was. Dark heaps here, dark heaps there, piled all around until they nearly rose above the courtyard walls, each giving off a chaotic assortment of foul odors. There was not even a single weed visible in the entire courtyard. He immediately felt like vomiting, but forcibly held it back to save his master face. He could not believe that a living, breathing person could turn a house into this!

When his master told him to pick any room and live in it, he nodded through tears. Not because he was moved, but because the stench had smoked his eyes raw. In his own words, it was fucking more eye-searing than cutting onions. At that moment, Yue Qianchou only wanted to give his master two words: "Beast."

Hao Sansi seemed to know what Yue Qianchou was thinking. He fished out a jug of wine, took a swig, and laughed. "It hasn't been cleaned for over a hundred years. Make do with it!"

"Over a hundred years... fuck!" Yue Qianchou finally could not hold it in any longer. He bolted outside and began retching loudly.

Over the next half month, Yue Qianchou fully carried forward the spirit of enduring hardship and hard work: resting at sunset, laboring at sunrise. By day, dressed like a ninja turtle, he carried sack after sack of things everyone avoided and tossed them off the cliff. At night, he slept in the wild forest, with heaven as his blanket and earth as his bed.

Another half month later, the house, scrubbed clean with water from the spring, looked brand new. Fragrant flowers had been planted everywhere. Yue Qianchou finally chose a room of his own, though the process had been unspeakably miserable. He also understood why all the houses within nearly a hundred meters of his master's residence stood empty.

"Smoke from cooking fires rises again, dusk blankets the earth. I want to ask the curling smoke, where are you going? The setting sun has the poetry of verse, twilight has the meaning of a painting..." It was still that same courtyard. Beneath the setting sun, wisps of cooking smoke rose. Yue Qianchou hummed a little tune, wearing a hat folded from banana leaves, bustling about with endless delight. His homemade grill was piled full of things. Holding a brush dipped in sauce, he continuously painted it over the food roasting on the grill. During this time, he had come up with quite a few strange and unusual things to flatter his master. His purpose went without saying.

"What kind of nonsensical song are you singing again? It sounds awful." Hao Sansi laughed as he scolded him. In his hands, he was threading frogs, wild chicken meat, rabbit meat, and more onto bamboo skewers. An enticing aroma filled the air.

Under the moonlight, an old man and a young man reclined in two simple bamboo lounge chairs. Each held a wine jug in one hand and tore into roasted meat with the other. The grill stood between them, its flames dying down, releasing lingering heat that kept the cooked meat above warm. Whenever they wanted to eat, they could simply reach over and grab some. It was convenient beyond measure.

"Master! Don't toss the bamboo skewers around after you finish eating. Please cherish the fruits of my labor, all right?"

"Hehe! I'm used to throwing them away casually. I'll definitely change, definitely change!"

Are my friends in that other land doing well? Yue Qianchou lay in his chair, gazing at the sky full of stars, his heart tangled in a thousand knots. Perhaps because Qingguang Mountain was so high, the glittering stars appeared especially bright. He took a swig of wine and asked weakly, "Master! I've been here for three months already. When will you start teaching me cultivation?"

From beside the grill came a belch, followed by a reply. "Qianchou! I told you long ago that your innate talent is too poor. You simply cannot cultivate. Even if I taught you, it would be nothing but wasted effort and wasted time. Why won't you give up? Could Master possibly lie to you?"

"I really can't accept this! I came brimming with enthusiasm, but who would have thought that now I'd be filled with nothing but grief and indignation? Sigh! Even those eleventh-generation disciples dare to sneer and mock me when they see me. Fine! That's all right, I can endure it! But when will these days ever end? Don't I even have a chance to turn things around? Master! Even if I truly can't do it, you have to let me try! Won't you even give me such a tiny chance..." As Zhao Wuchou spoke, his voice grew softer and softer. From the smell of wine, he had likely gotten drunk already. During this period, he had been like this nearly every day, just like his master, drunk in wine night after night. Yet even in his murmurs, that repeated sentence could still be heard: "Master! I really can't accept this..."

Hao Sansi sighed softly, his drunken, bleary eyelids drooping shut. Beneath the brilliant starlight, master and disciple began to snore.

As the flat ground began to pale faintly, the clouds and mist floating around Qingguang Mountain's waist had already been dyed golden by the sun just leaping over the horizon. Clouds swallowed mist, mist surged in waves, all draped in rosy rainbow light. The peak of Qingguang Mountain was the first to be showered in a sheet of gold.

Lying in the bamboo chair, Yue Qianchou was meeting his immortal sister in a dream when something struck his chest and jolted him awake. Raising a hand to shield himself from that golden light illuminating all things, he had barely sat up when something fell from his body. There was no need to ask—it had to be something his master had thrown at him. He stretched, casually picked it up, and found that it was a book. On its blue cover were the three large characters: 'Profound Heaven Art.' Yue Qianchou glanced at it without paying much attention and was just about to toss it aside when he suddenly froze. Hardly daring to believe his eyes, he looked at the two small words in the lower corner of the cover: 'Beginner Level.'

"Wow..." Yue Qianchou leaped up in delight. What he held was the beginner-level cultivation method of the Qingguang Sect's 'Profound Heaven Art.' He had heard of it long ago, but had never had the chance to obtain it. Once his excitement subsided, he hugged it tightly to his chest. Turning around, he saw his master Hao Sansi smiling at him. Yue Qianchou suddenly felt that this old fellow was far too lovable. He was so excited that he could barely speak.

Hao Sansi burst into laughter and returned to his room. His calm words drifted out. "Although I've never taught you much, I know you've been preparing for cultivation these past few months. I trust you should be able to understand this book, so there's no need for me to teach you further! If there's anything you don't understand, come find me anytime."

Yue Qianchou clutched the book as tears welled in his eyes. He raised a hand to wipe them away, then dropped to his knees with a thud and kowtowed three times. What could bring greater joy in life than finally obtaining what one wished for? These three kowtows were utterly sincere. In his heart, he had truly begun to regard Hao Sansi as his master.

Inside Yue Qianchou's own room, over nearly a month, he had already memorized the introductory cultivation method of the Qi Refining stage so thoroughly that it rolled off his tongue. Unless he was hungry, he had scarcely stepped out of the courtyard. Hao Sansi, who often pestered him for food, had not disturbed him either. According to the cultivation method, one first had to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, then absorb it for one's own use. Yet with this body like a lump of elmwood, after nearly a month, he had not sensed even a fart, much less any spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Thinking of the Qingguang Sect's group of Old Fellows calling him useless trash, his heart turned desolate. Yet he still refused to give up. If he had been the sort to retreat when faced with hardship, then in his previous life he could never have become the infamous Guo Laoda. There was a line from some television drama that he deeply agreed with... never abandon, never give up!

Another two months later, Yue Qianchou's mood inside the room became increasingly restless. There was still no response at all! During this time, he often encouraged himself with the story of the tortoise and the hare. But no one could endure the feeling of treading water in place! Sensing that something had gone wrong with his state of mind, he immediately decided to stop, go out for a walk, and readjust himself. He believed that one day, an iron pestle would be ground into a needle.

Stretching his limbs, he swayed out through the courtyard gate. Hao Sansi, leaning against the doorway with a wine jug in his arms, watched that departing figure and sighed, shaking his head.

The Qingguang Sect had many disciples. Along the way, he encountered quite a few familiar and unfamiliar faces, and many pointed at him while whispering. Yue Qianchou did not usually leave his courtyard, but his reputation as useless trash had already spread throughout the Qingguang Sect. Naturally, the familiar faces were those he had spoken with before, such as the two eleventh-generation disciples approaching him now.

One said, "Yo! Martial Ancestor Uncle! Have you eaten your fill yet?"

The other said, "Listen to you. Does Martial Ancestor Uncle have to stay inside if he hasn't eaten his fill? Eating, drinking, shitting, and pissing all day long—anyone would get sick of that! It's fine to skip a meal now and then! Martial Ancestor Uncle, don't you think I'm right?"

The two immediately burst into loud laughter. This was the sort of conversation he had with those familiar faces. Some masters even used him as a negative example when teaching their disciples. Yue Qianchou had long grown used to it. He gave a scornful smile and brushed past the two. For someone who had once stood high above others, proud to his very bones, to calmly face such rumors and mockery—the bitterness within was not something outsiders could understand. He himself remembered it to the marrow of his bones.

There were quite a few beautiful female disciples in the Qingguang Sect too! Yue Qianchou sighed inwardly, but when he saw that trace of mockery in their eyes, he could no longer bring himself to utter the words "pick up girls." He clearly knew that he had lost that qualification now. Even judging by appearance, this rotten sack of skin Yue Qianchou now possessed did not measure up! Was he supposed to move them with his kind heart? Yue Qianchou was not that idiotic. Or should he use the shameless, clinging approach to pester them? Lacking confidence, he disdained doing such a thing. To him, it was no different from begging and hoping for others' pity.

In his own words... one could do despicable, shameless, filthy things, but one could not be a despicable, shameless, filthy person. A person could not lose the most basic shred of backbone. From this, it could be seen that deep in Yue Qianchou's bones, he was still that Black Society boss who laughed proudly over the rivers and lakes.

His gaze swept over the long swords carried on the backs of passersby, and he secretly envied them. They were the mark of disciples who had reached Qi Refining Level Four. The Qi Refining stage had three ranks: early, middle, and late. Breaking through Level Three to reach Level Four meant entering the middle rank. The Qingguang Sect would issue a weapon: one specially made longsword, naturally far superior to ordinary longswords of the mortal world.

To avoid those mocking gazes—or perhaps as an unconscious escape—Yue Qianchou headed deeper into the back mountain. Retired elders of the Qingtian Sect lived in seclusion there, and ordinary disciples did not dare disturb them. He knew this as well, and walked forward with a faint feeling of pilgrimage.

At the end of the road stood several dozen ancient buildings, half-hidden amid the forest. Yue Qianchou stopped, not daring to go any farther. Those elders' residences were places even Sect Master Liu Changqing did not dare trespass into at will. This was his first time coming here, and he could go no farther. That was not a place he could enter. He sighed, turned around, and prepared to return by the way he came. After taking several steps, he suddenly stopped.

What was this? At his side seemed to be a wilderness path through the forest, extending downhill along the mountainside, though he had no idea where it led. If one did not look carefully, it was truly impossible to spot. Only faintly could one make out traces that a path had once existed. Yue Qianchou hesitated briefly, but still decided to take a look. Treading carefully along the wild path thick with brambles, he forced his way through.

The slope continued downward. After walking for about half an hour, stone steps abruptly appeared beneath his feet. Wild grass grew from the cracks between them, nearly concealing them completely. The path twisted and turned, and he had no idea where it led. The trees around him stood dense and gloomy. Yue Qianchou had the urge to turn back, but after coming so far, he could not suppress a trace of curiosity, so he continued onward.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he heard the rush of flowing water, and his pace quickened involuntarily. Then his view suddenly opened up. He had reached the end of the path. A burst of water mist blew toward him, and before his eyes stood a waterfall plunging straight down from the cliff. Beneath it lay a pool carved out by the waterfall's ceaseless pounding day and night.

The ground around the pool, nestled between the mountains, was clearly an artificially excavated flatland. A stone stele about two meters tall stood beside the pool. From Yue Qianchou's angle, he could not see what was written on it. He hurried over.

"Forbidden Ground." Two characters as large as buckets were carved into the stone stele, blood-red, grim, and fiercely imposing.

Yue Qianchou's heart gave a small jolt. He wondered whether he had trespassed somewhere he should not have entered. Unable to stop himself, he looked down the path beside the stele and saw a dark cave hidden behind the waterfall cascading straight down.